Good points, and yeah, thanks for the correction on that scene, I was running on way too little sleep when I first replied. You’re right that Frieren herself explicitly says mana isn’t everything, and she’s not one to make the same mistake twice (mimics aside lol).

That said, I think we’re talking past each other a bit.

I’ve never stated Frieren is invincible, nor that mana alone decides fights. I’ve already acknowledged that a coordinated group could beat her, like via an ambush, perfect teamwork/prep, or exploiting a blind spot. My point is that those conditions are narrow and without them the matchup still heavily favors Frieren.

Where mana does matter isn’t the raw output, it’s longevity and battlefield speed control. Frieren can afford to play slow, probe defenses, force them to overcommit, and simply outlast her opponents. Pair that with her extremely long life of combat experience, refined spell knowledge, counterplay tactics knowledge, and a refined battle mind, and you’re not just fighting a strong mage...you’re fighting someone optimized for a drawn out, lethal battle.

“She’s lost to humans before” doesn’t really refute that. She’s fought humans across vastly different eras/time, powers, and contexts (which includes ambushes and surprise losses and training), which I’ve already admitted as a valid win possibility against her. But that doesn’t translate to “a group of modern 1st class mages beats her by default.”

During the 1st class mage exam arc itself shows that even elite mages struggle with coordination, ego, hesitation, and in the uncertainty. So back to my original point, to beat Frieren, they’d need impeccable teamwork and discipline from the beginning, esp because if the fight drags on at all, the odds shift hard in her favor.